1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper sheet depositing and dispensing apparatus and, more particularly, to a paper sheet and/or depositing and dispensing apparatus such as, for example, an automatic cashier or automatic teller machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional paper sheet depositing and dispensing apparatus, for example, a paper sheet depositing and dispensing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 60-137738 or an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 61-291370 comprises a conveying means for collectively conveying a plurality of paper sheets between the paper sheet accumulating portion and the accommodating portion and a paper sheet separating means for separating a predetermined number of sheets from the accommodating portion so that the paper sheets are collectively supplied from the accumulating portion to the conveying means.
A disadvantage of the above-described conventional apparatuses resides in the fact that the overall size of the apparatus cannot be reduced since the paper sheet separating means or the accommodating means must be provided in the paper sheet accumulating portion. Furthermore, the conventional apparatuses are constructed to hold the paper sheets regardless of the state of the paper sheets to be sent and received between the components in the apparatus and the holding means. Therefore, if the paper sheet is held by the holding means in an any abnormal state, an operation error is generated during the paper sheet sending and receiving actions due to this abnormal state of the paper sheet leading to the stop of the operation of the apparatus thereby reducing the operational efficiency of the apparatus.